Ratings Scale (Term)
The rating scale is a measurement of a channel's or Companion's/Donor's selyn capacity and selyn draw speed. The level of selyn and the speed at which the selyn can be drawn determines the rating for both channel and Companion/Donor. As with all human traits, these characteristics have both innate (genetic perhaps) limits, and ideosyncratic expressions within the individual because of environment or experience. (see Joel Hogan) Also as with all human traits, these Ratings Scale parameters significance and dominanting effects change with the age of the channel and/or Donor. How the aging curve develops depends on the individual's personal habits and behaviors (the old diet and exercise effect). The largest effects on an adult's innate limitations in achieving higher Ratings come from the experiences that adult had as a child and during the First Year after changeover or Establishment. Like all humans, channels are very maleable. It was discovered even before the creation of Householdings that a channel's skill level, maximum selyn storage capacity, and maximum number of transfers per day depends very much on the amount of such selyn handling exercise during First Year when growth, change and adaptation peaks. The Householdings pushed young channels to develop to their personal optimum ability, which very often gives the individual channel the longest possible lifespan with the greatest possible health (and fertility). But at Unity, when the Tecton became the governing entity responsible for collecting selyn from out-Territory Gens and bringing that selyn in-Territory to distribute to renSimes, there just weren't enough channels, or enough selyn-storage capacity. The Tecton adopted two strategies to fulfill their mandate: a) maximize each channel's capacity b) breed more channels. With time, techniques for pushing a channel's development to a maximum and sometimes beyond that point became standard practice in the Tecton. The development of a "Ratings Scale" was one of the tools used to incentivize channels to become more than they naturally should be, and to manage those channels after they had been developed. This exaggerated development of channels is one of the objections the Modern Distect ( 132 Unity ) has to the Modern Tecton's reliance on channels instead of direct transfer, donor to renSime. The Ratings scale arose out of the inquisitive scientific development of theories about how and why channeling works. See General Class Donors. Most of this work was done by the Farrises of various Householdings, but the Farrises of Zeor became the acknowledged experts. The Rating scales are: Channels = QN. The ratings are QN-1 - First Order, QN-2 – Second Order and QN-3 – Third Order Donors = TN. The ratings are TN-1 – First Order, TN -2 – Second Order and TN-3 – Third Oder donors = GN. The ratings are GN-1, GN-2 and GN-3 (Gns, General Class donors are those Gens that donate selyn but do not serve the personal Need of a Channel. They feel no sensation of selyn movement during the donation. For those channels and Donors whose Proficiency can't be measured on the Ratings Scale, the rating of Four Plus – 4+, is at first given. Since it only happened among the Farrises - and very few of them - the 4+ designation was simply regarded as an exception of no importance until further advances in selyn technology revised the science. Tecton abbreviation for a renSime is RN.